"Womens Problems" - Losing weight with PCOS

Lith

Member
About My Diary

So my weight loss journey, if that is what you will call it, started in earnest a year and a third or so ago, but it never really got off the floor till August of 2011.

I'm one of those gals for whom weight loss is a slow and bone crunching thing, but I'm used to that by now. Like many of you, I have PCOS, and I have known since I was 16.

I never used to take this aspect of my physiology seriously till I was married and wanted to start a family. I never took the issues it imposes upon my weight loss attempts seriously until...oh...August 2011...

Hey, notice anything coincidental there?

Ever since I accepted that my PCOS plays a major part in shaping my body, I've been able to take steps to help myself. I've carefully researched my options, needs and requirements, and have taught myself to go easy on myself when things aren't going my way.

I have a lot more work to do, however, and so whilst I may be perfectly comfortable to speak of weight loss in general on my usual personal blog, for this particular aspect of my weight loss journey I am writing here in this little diary thread of mine where I am not entirely open to the world, yet have a great community of people here already.

The Master Plan

Much of my recent weight loss success occured after reading and implementing some of the steps in a book whose name and authors I don't recall (and I am MUCH too lazy at this time of night to go to my bookshelf and find this information!). The jist of their action plan on managing PCOS is cut down into 10 steps, and include such things as "drink more water" and "cut out sugar".

I implemented a few of these steps and found them to be helpful indeed, however I was doing this at an easy "I'll start the next step when I'm ready" pace and I never got past step 4. I realise that I must be more strict with myself if I am to achieve success and set myself time constraints, and so my master plan is that as of the second of January (as it is a Monday and thus the start of the week and easy to keep tabs on!) I shall implement a new step every two weeks. By doing it every two weeks I give myself time to adjust and prepare, but not allowing myself to get too complacent (I know that if I say a new step each month, I will be getting complacent and languishing by week three of the month!).

At the same time as this I will be attempting to lose weight by following Slimming World. I have previously had some minor success by plain old calorie counting and Weight Watchers, however there are a couple of steps in the PCOS plan (eat more, and eat more wholesome foods) which, whilst now at all excluding a numbers counting diet, do tend to slip right into the Slimming World plan of eat as much as you like out of these foods (which tend to be wholesome!). Also, my friends are using Slimming World so the real life support will be greatly appreciated.

My Pledge

In order to keep myself accountable and motivated, I hereby make the following pledge:

  1. I shall weigh in every Friday and update you here
  2. I shall check in every Monday with a progress report
  3. I shall notify here when I move onto the next step (it SHOULD be every other Monday)
  4. I shall post a progress picture on the 1st of each month

Till next time,

Lith
xxx
 
It's true that I'm more than a lurker than a majorly active forum poster. I'm quite ok with this...but it does mean that today I cannot put up my picture! Never fear though, for my picture has been taken and I shall edit this very message to insert it once I'm able.

Tomorrow I begin my rejuvinated efforts into weight loss. I'm looking forward to it, though I've so far been suffering with some terrible sugar cravings today. I'm certain however that I will be able to overcome these, as I have done so before. I have my menus all planned out for the week, a healthy stash of fresh fruit and veg, and the wish to be even more succesful this year than I was last year.

I will make it...bit by bit I will claw my way through it...and I will eventually get there!

Lith
xxx
 
Thanks for your kind words and encouragement guys :)

So, check in today. I start my PCOS/Slimming World eating plan today, so it's quite a momentous day! Yesterday was a little bit of a last supper moment, and the scales are showing it today, but I'm pretty positive, and to be fair I think the little blip on the scales is just what I need to set me off on the straight and narrow.

Being the first day, I'm starting step one of the PCOS plan, which is to eat more. The idea is just the good old eat little and often (help boost your metabolism and keep hunger away), but it's surprising how difficult it is to incorporate it into your lifestyle when you're not used to it ie. "I'm fat so I don't want my colleagues to think I'm always eating, it's shameful".

The plan suggests that you should not go more than three hours without eating something (except after your evening meal), however when I first tried this it was an awful lot of extra food to be taking on, and eating all that extra fibre from fruit etc did immediate horrid things to my insides, so I struggled to keep up with it!

Since I'm giving myself two weeks to incorporate each step into my life, I'm going to split this into two steps. This week I'm going to do this by incorporating a healthy snack in between breakfast and lunch, and lunch and dinner, so I'm not immediately overloading my system!

Wish me luck!
 
So here are my first of the month pictures for January, weighing in at 337 pounds

35G9Nyqm2ATRM2UIiwQD3P_s5c4hhsYUbL1l1mDCxLI


9xmiYcA3RXe3zj60a69gXP_s5c4hhsYUbL1l1mDCxLI


Looking good...but could be looking much better!

Lith
xxx

Edit: Although I dont think they're showing up? Hmm...not sure whether this is because Im using Picassa (which Ive never used before) or my post count..well it's here for now!
 
Last edited:
First weigh in...and haven't lost a sausage! I think I'm still in hangover from xmas food mode to be honest. However, my menu for next week is planned and would you believe it, the man beast has decided that yes, we can eat a vegetarian day! For my vegetarian dish we are having a morrocan style tagine of chickpeas and carrots with cous cous and a salad of diced pepper and cucumber dressed in lemon juice. I'm really excited about trying out my tagine pot, which I got for Christmas, and using it to expand my repertoire of healthy meals. The rest of my week is full of delicious, veg packed and wholesome meals too and I can't wait to see the effect on my health.

Lith
xxx
 
Oh dear I didn't do very well with my checking in every single week pledge did I? Never fear, one week is not a fail :)

On Friday I weighed in at 316lb's (down from 320) which I am pretty ecstatic with, especially considering I've not exactly been completely "good". However, I've learned I'm not an all or nothing girl. I slip gradually in and out of "diet mode" as it were, and bit by bit I'm getting out of Christmas mode yet again and back into healthy, wholesome mode.

This weekend was pretty bad but we've been enduring a stressful situation. Both my husband and I have come to realise just what compulsive and heavy comfort eaters we really are. This ties in with a little something that I discussed with my doctor on Friday.

I'm currently taking anti depressants, I have done on and off over the years. It's simply down to SAD, there is no underlying psychological issue turning me into a depressed and anxious wreck...it's just the long, dark winter days dull my mood in such a drastic way. Some years I'm really bad but some years I can cope. This year wasn't by any stretch of the imagination a bad one, I just needed a little help getting out of a rough patch of poor mood swings.

Anyway, I know I'm rambling now, there is a point to it! I have to see the doctor once a month whilst on the anti depressants and I confided how I was rather worried because some of my PCOS symptoms have been getting much worse...I'm getting spots accross my chest and back, and my body hair is really becoming very dark, noticeable, coarse, especially over my face, breasts and back.

Of course, as the hubby and I are hoping for a family soon, going on dianette would be completely out of the question even if my weight made it dangerous. My doctor was very sympathetic about my plight and asked how my weight loss was coming along, as she was positive this would put a halt to my PCOS. I explained, yes, I am loosing weight, but it's been long and slow. Slow in part because of the PCOS but also in part to my comfort eating. She suggested I go to one of the NHS weight loss clinics. I explained I've already been as I was referred to a dietician. It didn't help - I already know a vast amount about nutrition and healthy eating, the knowlege is not a problem at all...it is battling with the fact that I reach for chocolate, cheese and crisps whenever I feel stressed or upset. That really puts a hobble on my weight loss attempts, and I know it all too well.

So she has given me a two pronged attack. First off, she has referred me for CBT. She explained that normally they would only do this as part of treatment for depression, but as I already do suffer from this then there is no problem. Being infertile really contributes to my low moods, and I often brood on it. I used to cut, but I substituted it for comfort eating and binges. Which is healthier? CBT could help me stop reaching for the bag of pork scratchings whenever I get upset.

The second prong of the attack is Xenical.

Now I know weight loss pills have a massive stigma attached to them. I also know that twice before I have used them to no avail. At those times I didn't know what I know now about healthy eating and nutrition, and I had not already lost nearly two stones on my own. I was not exercising and I did not particularly try very hard. As soon as my poor diet meant that I had chronic diahorrea from taking the Xenical, I gave up anyhow.

My doctor and I are in agreement this time however...It is important for my health to loose weight, I have the knowledge and the know how to do it, I exercise regularly (though could be doing better admittedly) and I am seeking support to deal with the emotional and will power aspects of my eating. Given that PCOS does make weight loss a slower process anyhow, why shouldn't I use all the tools available to me, in this case Xenical, to give it a helping hand?

So I've been taking it all weekend and have had some very minor affects (mostly it's a bit softer and more frequent) but nothing like how I was before. I'm feeling positive about it :)

This week marks the beginning of stage two of my PCOS diet programme, which is to begin drinking 4 pints of water a day. For this week that means I'm drinking half a pint before and after each meal, and the rest of my fluid comes from whatever I'm drinking through the day. Next week however I will begin to limit my caffeinated drinks to two cups of tea or coffee a day to help me get the most from my water and start drinking zero calorie fruit cordial instead of pepsi.

Anyhow, that's my update for now. I shall be back on Friday with my weigh in!

Lith
xxx
 
That's quite an update. Sounds like ur making good positive steps. Be sure to check out the xenical forum. I found it great for tips and recipes.

Look forward to ur next update xx
 
Back
Top